love fridays...

There's not alot to love about today really, 43 degrees doesn't really excite me all that much.
But I'm lovin the fact that I'm going to see Ryan Adams & the Cardinals play at the forum tonight.
Also I'm looking forward to mixtogether tomorrow afternoon.
And tomorrow night my two bridesmaids (such a silly word) are coming round to organise wedding things.

tonight...

Off to see Neil Young at the myer music bowl, 6 rows from the front. Can't wait!
On the wedding front... there's exactly 2 months til the big day. Can't wait!

found...

Street art, velcroed to a wall in richmond.

monday baking...

Mmmm... gingerbread cake, a firm favourite at our house.
You can find a link to the recipe in the sidebar.

my apron & me...

I have had this piece of linen for a while now. It was a $1 op shop find & now it has been transformed. Remember to never look too closely, as my sewing skills still leave alot to be be desired. I'm actually quite proud of myself for making the waist ties just so. Can you see how all the teacups line up on them? Magic really.

I'm planning on making more aprons, similar to this one for my friends & family. Hopefully my stitching will get straighter with practice... But that's the handmade look isn't it? Hee hee.

Thanks to the support of picasa, I was able to upload pictures.

patience...

Is something I'm running out of. Silly computer internet is not allowing any picture uploads & there is so much to show. I made my first apron, made vege stock, made baked beans & so much more. I'll tell you all about it when I get the damn thing to work.

one more thing...

I've just booked tickets for me & the boy to Vanuatu! We're going there for our honeymoon in april... can not wait!

baking in the hot hot sun...

I discovered a new blog. It's called butter flour sugar & she's a melbourne girl that bakes like a banshee. She inspires me to bake... but it's too bloody hot! I think tomorrow will only be 24 degrees, so perhaps I'll hold off til then.

love fridays...

I thought I'd join the love fridays gang. They've been around for a while & tinnie girl is the leader of the pack.
I'm lovin today for many reasons... I took a 'me' day & traipsed around the city in a daze lookin for cute clothes, a spot of lunch, some art viewing & general inspiration.
I've been wanting a proper ladies wallet for some time now & today I happenned upon this beauty. It was on sale for $49 (half the original price), has plenty of space & can fit a small moleskin, a pen & my phone in it. Hurrah! Just what I needed.
I was inspired by two of my favourite florists, Whitemoss & Pollen. They are both on flinders lane & always have wonderful dislays.

whitemoss

pollen

Another highlight of the day was at the Ian Potter NGV gallery. I wandered in to checkout the Rosalie Gasciogne & the Rennie Ellis exhibits, both stunning.

Rosalie Gasciogne- sweet lovers (detail)

Rennie Ellis - Sharpies (detail)

making me smile this morning...

This adorable vase found one of my daily blog reads oh joy.

right now...

I found this on Soozs blog & thought I'd follow suit...

Outside my window… the sky is dark

I am thinking… about all the things on my to do list

I am thankful for… my beautiful husband to be & my wonderfully supportive family & friends

From the kitchen… tonight was nicoise salad for dinner & baked apples stuffed with sultanas for desert

I am wearing… runners, short shorts & a tshirt (I did just ride home from work & then walk the dogs)

I am creating… a garden in pots, sewing from my stash & nice happy house

I am going… to see Neil Young & Ryan Adams in concert next week

I am reading… one good run, the legend of Burt Munro (the movie the fastest indian was based on him)

I am hoping… for Samuel to finish up at the workshop within the next hour

I am hearing… the hum of the computer, an occassional dog barking & the sweet sound of Carmen McCrae

Around the house… there is a little brown mouse that I would like to catch

One of my favourite things… people enjoying my cooking

A few plans for the rest of the week… I am going to potter about for the next 5 days as I'm not back at work til tuesday

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

I can't find the original location I found this image, but I'm quite certain it's by Nick Dewar

corners...

I thought I'd share some corners of my home.

on the dining table

in the lounge

above the kitchen sink

on the coffee table

beside the bed

on the mantel

diy dog haus...

Here's a pic of the dog house we constructed over the break. It only took a few hours to put together, thanks to Samuel's woodworkin skills. The boys from left are... Otto the weimaraner, Gus the midget staffy & Arthur the australian cattle dog. It's so funny living with three very different dogs. Arthur wants to round things up all the time, things such as waves, people, trucks & the hose. Gus just runs frantically non stop or sits at the door staring at you as though you are the meanest human on earth for not giving him attention. And Otto wants to be in the same room or in the hot hot sun & when there is a stick involved he becomes possessed.
We are all lying about, waiting for the man to come home so we can take a walk along the yarra. Otto will fetch the stick from the river, Arthur will round up the rowers & Gus will run flat out after nothing in particular.
Til next time...

in the garden...

I don't have much dirt in my garden, so here's my compensation. The pots are all up out of reach, because the giant otto dog (weimaraner) likes to eat the manure in the soil. Ooooh gross!

a country drive...

During our break we took a huge country drive over 2 days, 900 kms we did. Petula managed quite well for an old girl (she's our 1978 V12 Jaguar). On the Sunday we drove from Melbourne to Corop where Samuel's family have had farms for the past 3 generations. We were give a tour by his Dad's cousin, which included a bush graveyard where the earliest grave is 1877. He showed us all the old farms & farm houses, told us stories of droving, machinery & distant relatives from times past. It really was quite interesting. We couldn't resist taking the photo below, because I'll be a speer at the end of march when we marry.
We then drove off into the afternoon heat, on our way to Beechworth. We stayed the night in Stanley which is a 10 minute drive out of town, in this little cottage. It's on a chestnut farm & is just lovely.
Below is their immaculate english style garden, where cute little fairy wrens danced about in the morning sun. The smell of the chestnut flowers were so strong. Quite yeasty, almost like bread proving in a warm kitchen, with a sweet tinge to it.On the monday morning we pottered about beechworth, before setting off for the King Valley. Our first stop was the winery Gracebrook, which our host at the cottage had recommended. We had cups of tea out on the lawn & chatted to the owner/winemaker, before going into the barn to try some wine. Isn't the barn just awesome. They rebuilt it from the original foundations, all the timber was handmilled to look as it would have in the day.
This is on the lawn looking the opposite direction out over the vines & valley. The history of the King Valley is quite interesting too. Because Beechworth was quite popular during the gold rush, the valley was used for the chinese market gardens & the italians grew tobacco.

introducing...

Luka Joseph, my little sister's gorgeous baby boy. He arrived on the 8th of Jan weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds & 6 ounces! Here he is modelling two of the swaddle sheets Aunty Kitty made for him.

40 days...

Yep, that's right. I have not written a post in forty long days. Many things have contributed to this... my computer deciding not to work, then my internet deciding not to work, then I moved house & had no internet. After all these things I decided on just ignoring the internet all together & taking some time out. This week though I've been inspired to slowly start replying to emails & catching up on all my favourite blogs.
This summer has been fabulous for me & I hope it's been lovely for you too.
So far I have...

• moved into a great little house, with lots of natural light
• celebrated christmas with a delicious lunch of lobster
• brought in the new year with friends & a barbie on their rooftop
  
• designed, printed, cut, packaged & posted wedding invites
  
• sewed up a storm... swaddle sheets, zippered pouches
  
• cooked & baked to my little hearts delight
• started building a vegie garden in pots
• walked the dogs (all 3) along the yarra nearly every night
• went on a huge country drive, involving Corup, Beechworth, Stanley & the King Valley
• bought & drank much beautiful wine
• helped build a kennel
• became an auntie to the cutest little boy
• organised more wedding stuff... 10 weeks to go...
• designed new ad's & business cards for Samuels' workshop
  

So many things I have done, it surely didn't seem like that much until now. I still have lists as long as my legs to get through. Here's how we celebrated christmas day...